Karl's Last Flight, Part 8

Karl's Last Flight, Part 8

©2006, Basil Sands

Faisel sat in a chair at an end of the room while Liam and another man sat comfortably on a sofa.  They were laughing about something when Karl walked in.

"Karl." Liam stood opening his arms in introduction, "Meet my good friend Manoosh, Faisel's nephew."

The other man rose from the couch with a wide, welcoming grin on his bearded face.  He had dark skin and incredibly thick looking black hair.  His beard was well kept and his eyes flashed with friendliness as he took Karl's hand in both of his. 

"Khaste Nabasshib," Manoosh said in greeting, then he spoke English, "Welcome to our house, please sit here." 

He gave his seat to Karl and took a wooden chair for himself then continued in English.

"I am sorry we are meeting under such circumstances. Also, I am sorry for the loss of the passenger in your craft.  Was he your friend?"

"No, just a client.  It is tragic nonetheless.  I m sure someone cared about him." Karl didn't care at all about the former movie star.   The dead man's carelessness was directly responsible for making Karl's life quite miserable, not to mention starting this war.  This was not a position that garnered a sense of mourning from Karl.

"So Karl, where are you from in America?"  Manoosh asked.

"I grew up in Ohio, but have lived in Phoenix for several years now."

"I too have been to America.  I went to college at the University of Alaska Geophysical Institute in Anchorage.  Have you heard of it?"

"Yes I have, one of the engineers I worked with at NASA was from Fairbanks, he attended the same college back in the eighties.  He  took a few of us on some beautiful fishing trips up there many years ago."

"What a small world.  I graduated  much later than your friend though, class of '96 for my BA.  I left there in 2000 with two Masters Degrees, in Geological Engineering and Physics." Manoosh paused for a moment.

Karl knew many Middle Easterners who had gone to study in America.  He also understood that many of those students went back to their home country and used what they learned against the very country that had helped gain that knowledge. 

"I am telling you this, not because I am boasting, but so that you will understand I am not just some nomadic bushman with an axe to grind.  We are educated and fully understand the ramifications of the current situation."

"O.K., so you are a well educated engineer and you are a part of the resistance.  What does this have to do with me?" Karl was getting a bit nervous.  He got the distinct impression the situation was spiralling into something he could not control, something he was not at all comfortable with.

"Do you know much about the Iranian Nuclear program?"

"Only what has been on the news." Karl recalled the latest broadcast he heard. "They have some warheads, but were having trouble with delivery systems as I remember."

"Correct, well partly correct." Manoosh explained, "They actually have decent delivery vehicles,  plenty of medium and long range missiles they have been sold by Russia and France.  The problem has been an automated detonation system."

Liam spoke up, "Basically their missiles fly,  but then just drop into the ground without the big bang. "

Karl raised his eyebrows and said,  "That's a pretty major problem for them, but I would think it works out pretty well for the rest of the world."

Manoosh continued, "The detonation problems they are having are the direct result of our agents in the facility that made the detonators.  We put a defect in them that went unnoticed until two days ago, when the first few launches against Israel and the American bases in Iraq and Saudi Arabia failed to detonate.  Once they discovered the problem it was too late as American missiles had destroyed the facility where the detonators were made.  All of the existing templates for the detonators have been destroyed by our saboteurs."

Karl looked back and forth between the two men, "So far it still sounds like we are winning."

"There has been a change in strategy now." Manoosh went on, " The Army has a manual detonation device that works rather simply.  The problem is that it is manual.  which of course means someone needs to be within proximity of the warhead to press the button for detonation."

Manoosh and Liam put their gaze directly at Karl as his face went pale.  "I think I am beginning to understand where you are going with this."

Liam looked at Karl, "They are planning to use those MiG27's we heard of as nuclear suicide bombers.  Manually guided missiles, aimed straight at their targets, and detonated by hand.  The Kamikaze has returned.  It is a martyrs dream come true, instant nearly painless death and immediate access to all those virgins."

There was a pause as all three men stared at Karl until he was uncomfortable.

"What do you want me to do about it?" asked Karl.

"Help us stop them" replied Manoosh.

"Like I told Liam and the others yesterday, I'll do what I can.  But, I am astronaut, not a commando."

"Your knowledge of aircraft should be of use for us.  You can help us disable the planes they have at the airfield."

At this Manoosh opened a folder and put several photos and a map of the area on the small table in front of them.  Faisel and Liam leaned forward over the items, studying them intently.

Karl sat silently for a moment.  His heart was racing.  He could feel his pulse in his neck as the tension tightened on the back of his head.

Esther came into the room at that moment with a tray of tea and some food.  The sight of her relaxed him a bit.

"Well," he thought to himself, "if it were not for the fact that we are in Iran, in the middle of a war, and I am probably going to be dead in the next 24 hours, I think I would ask her to dinner."

She smiled tenderly at him, her eyes catching a sparkle of sunlight,  as if in reply to having heard his thoughts.

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